I don't know is they're 'back' or not, but there's at least a few hundred fast fingered momo junkies jumping on those 100-200% in a day gainers.
I wouldn't necessarily believe that vanilla day traders are already back. Because it is really unnecessary to day trade in this kinda market. Swing traders are much more profitable, not enough intraday movements and reversals to day trade on yet. Buying on dip is the key to outperform other winners, yes other winners. 100% up room to go.
It was bound to happen. With our "free" markets and now the forex market opening up, the combination of layoffs and people seeking better returns/higher risks. However, this time around, there may not be as big a bubble form as in 1999/00. This may be due to more info in general available on HOW to trade, versus the "I made a million in my first week YOU can too!" mentality. We got Elder now, teaching money management and how NOT to get your account blown out in one trade. Others too, like Eng, who teach more along the lines of trading for a living. If these newbie daytraders pay attention and use some discipline, they certainly won't be wiped out as easily like many of them (me included) were in the 90s. And, remember too, the more traders who do well, the more liquidity for all of us to be able to succeed in our chosen profession, trading. If there's only 6 guys who can make it, they won't be trading very long. to
Baruch, what is your win|loss ratio? Mine is... a tad more... than 50|50 on a good day, with the wind at my back, after I use Windex to clean my monitor screen. to